Panic! At The Disco At Staples

I didn't see you there.

This band is completely under the radar, yet their entire tour went clean, the upper deck at Staples was full, what was going on?

I'm not sure I can tell you, but the girls got it, they understand, they were in attendance and...

They knew every word.

It's not like the band's been hidden from view, but it's been eons since they had a big hit. What's driving this?

I don't know.

Could be Brendon Urie's appearance, his sexuality, he could be a fantasy.

But the music is definitely rock and it definitely has melody and...

If you went you'd get it. Even if you were unfamiliar with the material, about halfway through the nearly thirty song set you'd find yourself singing along with the choruses, shimmying.

What gives?

Baby boomers are no longer in control. Sure, they go to see the aged acts but not only do they not break bands, they're unaware of new bands and can't fathom that decades have gone by and young 'uns are developing favorites of their own.

It's not like Panic! is brand new, they've been around in excess of a decade. We think of modern acts as evanescent, but that's untrue, how long have Jay Z and Beyonce been around? Then again, we hear about the twosome constantly, we never heard about Panic!

It's an internet act. That's right, you can play to your fans and do quite well. Actually, if you're playing to everybody you're missing the point, everybody is not paying attention.

Not that Brendon did not give them their money's worth.

Sure, there was production, but it was clear who was the star, twisting and dancing at the end of the runway that protruded from the stage.

The band was like one you've never seen.

There was a male guitarist, a male drummer, but...

A woman bass player and three women string players and three male horn players.

I've never seen a conglomeration like this before.

Then again, Brendon starred in "Kinky Boots"... That used to be a role for those with no traction, those who could not sell tickets, but ever since Billy Joe Armstrong appeared on Broadway, not only does it sell tickets, it's seen as a feather in your cap. Forget the Boss on Broadway, that's a victory lap, Brendon Urie on the Great White Way is part of the ascension.

But how do they know every word?

THEY LISTEN!

That's right, we keep hearing that kids today have short attention spans, that could not be more untrue, they have incredible shit detectors, but if they find something they like, they'll play it, spend time with it, ad infinitum.

It wasn't very much different from the rock shows of yore. Filling the Fillmore. There were three acts, I'd never even heard of Hayley Kiyoko, and she's never had a hit, but all the tracks from her new album "Expectations" are in seven figures on Spotify, plenty are over twenty million. And for the record, there are fewer plays on YouTube, that's right, the behind the times music industry keeps talking about the "value gap," but the truth is kids are on the paid streaming services, and don't forget that Spotify's only one of them.

Could Panic! have made it without a label?

Doubtful, since they were so young when they started and it was a different era.

But the label is not sustaining the act, the fans are, and it all happens on the internet.

The future is here.


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